A hit pop machine that has sold tens of millions of records,
Swedish cult group ABBA
is back on November 5 with Voyage, their first studio album in 40 years.
And record shops have been stormed in Stockholm as the video shows.
"Thank you for waiting ..." Agnetha, Björn, Benny, Anni-Frid said.
The new Abba album is out: record shop stormed in Stockholm
Here are five things to know about ABBA
A name, four names and a herring
Formed in stages at the dawn of the 1970s, the group had its first success in Sweden. But he struggles to find a name and after the flop of the name "Festfolk" and a competition launched in the newspapers, Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad finally keep "
ABBA", acronym of their first four names
but there it's a problem: the name is already used by a fish canning company. After a phone call to the manager of the company, Agnetha gets permission to use the name, in exchange for the easy promise never to enter the fish business!
Abba herring - without capital letters - is still sold in all supermarkets in Sweden
.
"Waterloo", a triumph at Eurovision
After missing the competition in 1973 with the single "Ring Ring", the quartet manages to qualify to represent Sweden at Eurovision 1974, which is held in Brighton, in the south of England. With their star-shaped guitar and their
seventy skintight satin
c
ostumes
, ABBA triumphed with "Waterloo", relegating "Grease" diva Olivia Newton-John to sixth place.
The phenomenon was born in front of millions of viewers
. His title, spinning the sentimental metaphor on the famous Napoleonic defeat, becomes number one in Europe. "Mamma Mia" (1975), then "Dancing Queen" (1976) - played for the first time on the occasion of the marriage of the Swedish king Carlo XVI Gustavo to Queen Silvia in June 1976 - will confirm the momentum of a long list of hits.
Fous, crazy costumes
Originally intended to stand out from the crowd of Eurovision Song Contest entrants,
the sparkling costumes will become the hallmark
of ABBA. "I asked Björn: + what would you like, what can I produce for you? And he replied: + nothing is too crazy +", Owe Sandström, the designer of the group's famous outfits, told AFP.in front of a selection on display at
the ABBA museum in Stockholm
. A call to extravagance followed with joy, which mixes influences from cabaret, circus, animals ... Sequins, pearls, crystals,
all that glitters is for ABBA
. One of her favorites: the one worn by Björn during the presentation of the hit "Chiquitita" (1979) at the United Nations, an outfit inspired by flamenco.
Sweden, champion of music exports
Even today, only three countries in the world export more music than they import: the United States, the United Kingdom and ... Sweden, according to a recent independent study commissioned by Export Music Sweden. With 400 million sales across all media claimed by the Universal record company,
Abba is one of the largest record sellers in history
and helped to put the Nordic country of about 10 million inhabitants at the top. But the trend continued with the success of Swedish bands like Roxette, Ace of Base, The Cardigans, or more recently Swedish House Mafia, Lykke Li or the late Avicii, not to mention very influential producers like Max Martin, father of dozens of successes.
Two marriages and two divorces
ABBA is a quartet but has also formed two couples.
In 1971, Agnetha married Björn.
In 1978, Frida and Benny, together for several years, get married in turns.
But the duets are exhausted, particularly tired from the group's success.
In 1979, Agnetha and Björn divorced and in 1981 it was Frida and Benny's turn to separate.
An end to their passion that is reflected in their songs, such as the poignant "The Winner Takes It All" (1980).
In 1981 ABBA released a final album and
the following year the group stopped performing in public
.
But its success will continue, notably with the "ABBA Gold" compilation released in 1992.
